The remarkably rich period of history which I trace in the novels on this site is distinguished by a stunning gallery of characters. These characters are the enactors of history, the people through whose lives history weaves its stories.

What fascinates me about creating history in fiction is the way in which “real people” are brought to life to enact again, in the fleshed out vigour of prose fiction, the events that made them and which they helped to shape.

In the following vignettes I try to explain how I set about portraying some of these people, why they are important and my own fascination with them.